Yay Its Christmas! And each of us believes that this miracle holiday will dispel all the evil and negative things that have been surrounding us during this year. What about the Christmas tree? The symbol of love, peace and happiness! It is hard to imagine the Christmas period without same old Christmas tree: doesn’t matter whether it is fresh or artificial.
People started using Christmas trees as a symbol of winter before the birth of Christ: they used not only evergreens, but also cherry and hawthorn trees. The tradition of setting up a Christmas tree was started in 1913 in Chicago, where a tall Christmas tree was established in Grant Park.
United States’ 14th President Franklin Pierce was the first President who placed a Christmas tree in the White House. However, Teddy Roosevelt banned this tradition for environmental purposes. Nowadays, more than 97 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on special farms, and only 3 percent are cut from the wild. There are nearly 350 farms specializing in growing Christmas trees. In the United States, each year, nearly 46 million trees were planted by the farmers.
When it comes to choosing the perfect Christmas tree, most people have very specific preferences. Thus, some of them can use an artificial tree remained from the previous year, or they can jump in the endless search of the perfect fresh Christmas tree from the very beginning. Why? Just because it will please them during holidays. Both fresh and artificial trees have their advantages and disadvantages, but if you want a Christmas tree to serve you for many years, then it is better to choose the artificial one. However, the biggest part of Americans prefers to get a fresh Christmas tree, which brings a unique and cozy atmosphere to their homes. There are also some cases when buyers are guided by the low price on Christmas trees during that period.
You may probably about taxes: are Christmas trees taxable? Of course, they are! Both artificial and fresh trees are considered to be tangible personal property, which is taxable in most states. However, there are several states which have some exemptions on Christmas trees. As a rule, states exempt those products, the manufacturing of which they are going to support. Thus, there are lots of states which actively promote the Christmas tree Industry.
As a rule, artificial trees are always subject to sales tax , meanwhile there are several tricky points when it comes to fresh trees. Thus, the state of Mississippi does not charge taxes on fresh trees. In the state of Arkansas, fresh Christmas trees are also tax-exempt, on the condition that you are buying them directly from the farmer. However, if you buy a tree from the shop near the farm, you have to pay taxes! The same goes for the state of Alabama where you do not have to pay taxes, if you buy your Christmas tree from certain organizations.
However, if you want to buy your Christmas tree and avoid paying additional taxes, you should buy it from a nonprofit organization. So, if the transaction is completed by a nonprofit organization, this purchase may be considered tax-exempt. You can face this practice in the states such as Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, and Arizona. Keep in mind that in the state of Virginia, selling fresh trees by nonprofit companies is considered a retail sale, which means you have to pay sales tax for it. On the other hand, if both artificial and fresh trees are sold by for-profit organizations this purchase is subject to sales tax. Recently, Pennsylvania announced a bill to make fresh Christmas trees tax-exempt, since fresh trees are among few agricultural products in this state that are not tax-exempt.
According to the above-mentioned information, you can see that avoiding taxes for your Christmas tree is possible when you get them from those states, which are specializing in their manufacturing. For example, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, New York Virgin, and Oregon are top states for producing Christmas trees.
If you have any questions concerning taxes in a certain state, contact our Prestige Auditors team! We will gladly provide you with all the necessary information that you are interested in, and we are happy to serve our clients by getting them tax exempt! Helping you reduce the amount of sales taxes is what always do. And by the way, the whole team of Prestige Auditors wishes all of you a Merry Christmas and endless happiness in the new coming 2021. You are never alone: message us in regards with any issue and we will do our best to provide you with useful tips for building a business.
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